1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for displaying keyed-in characters in word processing applications. More particularly, the invention involves a display device for an electronic typewriter which displays a scalable edit window and position indicators for the window, both of which facilitate operator preview of keyed-in characters while providing location information of the characters with respect to a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional electronic apparatus include some sort of display screen on which keyed-in characters are displayed prior to printing. However, to identify the position at which displayed characters will be printed, it is necessary for the operator to refer to a horizontally-engraved ruler located adjacent the printer carriage, or to a cursor position marker located on the printer head. To perform this task, the operator must, however, switch his/her focus from the display screen, where edit and keying operations are displayed, to the ruler or marker. When several edit operations are necessary, such cross-reference between the display screen and a ruler or marker causes great inconvenience and results in reduced efficiency. In addition, since such conventional rulers or markers only provide horizontal position information, the operator cannot determine the vertical line position or vertical span of the printed characters with respect to the paper.
Thus, there exists a need for a system which displays on a single display device, the spatial relationship of keyed-in characters with respect to the recording medium selected for printing. In particular, there exists a need for a system which provides horizontal and vertical positional information of keyed-in characters, with respect to the recording medium selected for printing the characters, so that the format of the characters on the recording medium may be viewed prior to printing. There also exists a need for a display device which facilitates the display of characters of a variety of font sizes on a single line, including very large font sizes.
In addition, since electronic typewriters generally print each line of characters as soon as keying-in of the characters is complete, the apparatus display screen is usually large enough to display only a single line. Even though markers indicating the horizontal position of the keyed-in characters may be available prior to printing, since only a single line is displayed the operator is generally unable to visualize where on the recording medium the line will be printed. Thus, to visualize the document he/she is formatting, the operator must either print a draft of the document or project an inherently inaccurate mental image of the unprinted document. Inconvenience, delay and inaccuracy are the resulting consequences.
Thus, there exists a need to provide the operator of an electronic apparatus with assistance in visualizing where on a page keyed-in characters will be printed.
The present invention relates to a system for displaying a scalable edit window and position indicators for the window, both of which facilitate operator preview of keyed-in characters while providing location information of the characters with respect to a recording medium (or paper).
One aspect of the present invention is a system for providing a scalable edit window in which keyed-in characters may be previewed, the edit window having a height adjustable in accordance with font size of the keyed-in characters. A scalable edit window is displayed in accordance with a stored window height, and at least one keyed-in character is displayed in the edit window. The scalable edit window is sized to display a single line of text, and the keyed-in character is displayed in the scalable edit window in a size and font type representative of the corresponding character to be printed. A font size of the keyed-in character is compared to the stored window height. If the font size is larger than the stored window height, the stored window height is replaced with the font size so as to provide an updated window height. The window height of the scalable edit window is adjusted in accordance with the updated window height.
Thus, this aspect of the present invention provides a system which displays on a single display device the spatial relationship of keyed-in characters in a size and font type representative of the corresponding character to be printed. It also facilitates the display of characters of a variety of font sizes mixed together in a single line, including very large and very small font sizes.
Another aspect of the present invention involves a system for providing a scalable edit window in which keyed-in characters may be previewed, the edit window having a width adjustable in accordance with a width of paper on which the characters will be printed. A scalable edit window is displayed in accordance with a stored window width, and at least one keyed-in character is displayed in the edit window. The scalable edit window is sized to display a single line of text, and the character being displayed in the scalable edit window is displayed in a size and font type representative of the corresponding character to be printed. It is then determined if a paper width sensor is present. If present, a paper width value is stored; if not present, a manually-entered paper width value is stored. The stored paper width is compared to a previously-stored window width. If the stored paper width is not the same as the previously-stored window width, the previously-stored window width is updated by replacing it with the newly-stored value so as to provide an updated window width. The window width of the scalable edit window is adjusted in accordance with the updated window width.
This aspect of the present invention provides the operator with a visualization of the spatial relationship of keyed-in characters in a size and font type representative of the corresponding characters to be printed. It also provides a display system which is responsive to the width of the recording medium, so that the operator will be provided with precise location information of keyed-in characters with respect to the recording medium.
A further aspect of the present invention is a system for providing position indicators for a scalable edit window in which keyed-in characters are displayed prior to printing on a recording medium. The position indicators indicate the position of the edit window with respect to the recording medium. A scalable edit window in which keyed-in characters are displayed prior to printing on a recording medium is displayed. A horizontal ruler and a vertical ruler for indicating the position of the edit window with respect to the recording medium are also displayed. The horizontal ruler comprises a left margin marker and a right margin marker which respectively indicate the left and right margins designated for formatting on the recording medium, whereas the vertical ruler comprises a line top marker and a line bottom marker which respectively indicate a top and a bottom of the editing window. A width of paper selected for printing the keyed-in characters is detected. A font size of the keyed-in characters and maximum printing capability of the apparatus are detected. A length of paper selected for printing the keyed-in characters is entered. A left margin value and a right margin value are also entered. The length of the horizontal ruler is adjusted in accordance with the width of the recording medium or in accordance with the detected maximum printing capability of the apparatus. The left margin marker and the right margin marker are also adjusted respectively in accordance with a left margin value and a right margin value. The length of the vertical ruler is adjusted in accordance with the entered length of paper. The line top marker and the line bottom marker are also adjusted in accordance with the detected font size of the keyed-in characters. The keyed-in characters are then printed.
This aspect of the present invention provides the operator with the spatial relationship of keyed-in characters with respect to the recording medium selected for printing. More specifically, horizontal and vertical position information of keyed-in characters are provided so that the format and position of characters on the recording medium may be previewed prior to printing.
Yet another aspect of the present invention involves a system for displaying a scaled image of a recording medium on which is indicated a position for pending print operations. A line of keyed-in characters is displayed in a first display area prior to printing on a recording medium. Size information for the recording medium and position information indicative of the pending print position for the keyed-in characters displayed in the first display area are stored. A scaled image of the recording medium is displayed in a second display area, which is preferably on the same screen as the first display area. The pending print position of the line of keyed-in characters displayed in the first display area is visually highlighted on the scaled image in the second display area in accordance with the stored position information.
This aspect of the present invention provides the operator of an electronic typewriter with assistance in visualizing where on a page keyed-in characters will be printed.